Little Metal Dog Show Post on Ace of Spies!

My partner in designing, Michael Fox has posted about our soon to be Kickstartered game, Ace of Spies!

First of all (and definitely most exciting) is that Ace of Spies, the card game designed by myself and Mark Rivera has been picked up by a US publisher and will be released later this year (after it goes through a Kickstarter campaign that begins on April 20th, of course). Here’s the blurb that will (probably) go on the back of the box:

“A card game of stealth and sneakiness! Players act as spymasters, collecting sets of cards in order to complete missions. Only the greatest player will be declared The Ace Of Spies! By taking two cards at the start of each turn, you’ll build up a selection of Agents, Tools, Intelligence and Locations that will allow you to hopefully finish more missions than everyone else. More missions mean more points – as long as they’re complete! If they’re left incomplete by the end of the game, they score negative points and pretty much ensure you’re not going to win…

Four separate decks are needed to play the game. The Mission Deck cards state what combinations are needed in order to complete a mission. The more specific the requirements the more points the completed mission is worth – some can be very difficult to finish but will prove very lucrative, but there’s always the risk they’ll count against you.

The other decks represent three different cities – London, Paris and Berlin – and contain the Agents, Tools, Intelligence and Locations you’ll need. Intervention cards can be used as instants and will allow you to turn the game in your favour (as long as you play them at the correct time. Should that all important card you require be lost in the discard piles, you may be able to retrieve it, but that’ll come at a high cost. Between two and five spymasters can attempt to become the Ace of Spies! May the most devious and sneaky win!”

We’re both very excited but can’t reveal much more about the game as yet, but can say the following:

1. The game looks amazing. The publishers have got some ridiculously talented artists on board and have really brought Ace of Spies to life.

2. It’s been playtested to within an inch of its life and we’re honestly incredibly happy with it. The game’s accessible enough for relative newbies to get into it but also has enough in there for more experienced gamers. We reckon we’ve struck a good balance and hope you do too.

3. There’s some pretty cool things planned for Kickstarter backers. We’ve listened to what kind of stuff people like (and more importantly what they DON’T like) and reckon that there really is something for everyone.

If you want to keep up to date on what we’re up to with Ace of Spies, you can follow us on Twitter under the @Ace_of_Spies account. We’re also (finally!) on BGG and there’ll be a Designer Diary about our adventures going live over there sometime around the start of the campaign.